In this coming week’s edition, an article was posted in The Town Common, ‘Mayor Holaday Moving Forward After Uncontested Reelection’ claiming there will be this special committee to take care of the sidewalks in the City of Newburyport.

Quoting Stewart Lytle, the reporter,

“Next up among the new projects is the long-awaited repair program for sidewalks. A special committee will be working on a sidewalk reconstruction master plan.”

Now, I have read Mr. Lytle’s articles before and he does not have a reputation for being a liar – obviously he heard it with his own ears from Mayor Holaday.

So who will be part of this special committee and when will it get to meet?

Could you imagine somebody building a house and then asking for plans to build the house afterward? I wouldn’t put my big toe inside that structure!

This special committee better hurry up. It’s too late for Prospect Street with its hap-hazard surfaces – just about all new I might add. It’s too late for Essex Street – one of our heavily dependent heritage tourism locations. It’s now slathered with concrete not historic brick. It’s too late for Kent Street or Liberty Street covered in blacktop.

This special committee better hurry up.

Now the rest of the article is all about the good things that Mayor Holaday is planning. And except for a few mistakes here and there, the Mayor has been doing a great job and taking calculated risks – that’s a sign of a great leader. Perhaps it’s the ‘Charge up San Juan Hill’ mentality when it comes to the sidewalks that’s causing this major faux pas.

Those who want to encourage more heritage tourism visitors, those who want actual true safe sidewalks, those who want to boost property values, those who need an equity loan to improve their properties; need to throw up some barricades to slow the Mayor’s advance! Those hoping to get a boost in assessed values by laying down historic brick in the National Register area need to setup some anti-tank structures – whatever works to slow the Corner Office down!